Passersby alert police to toddler wandering in road

NORTH CHARLESTON (WCSC) -
North Charleston Police say concerned citizens who spotted a toddler wandering in the road and called 911 helped them quickly reunite the child with his family.

Police responded Tuesday afternoon at around 2:15 p.m. to numerous calls of a three-year-old child walking in the roadway in the area of Patriot Boulevard and Ashley Phosphate Road, the incident report states. When police arrived, they say they found several people who had spotted the child standing with him.

Several police officers canvassed area apartment complexes to search for the child's family, the report states.

One of the officers was able to locate the child's stepfather, who told police that the boy was supposed to be in the custody of his wife, who was home recovering from surgery. The woman told police she had taken pain medication and was sleeping and did not realize her child was missing until her two-year-old told her his brother was out front in a police car.

At that point, she told police, she lifted up the blanket she thought he was sleeping under and realized he was gone.

North Charleston Police say they returned the child to his mother and notified Dorchester County DSS.